Drug addiction does not merely affect the user. Friends and family members as well as colleagues also are affected when someone they are close to abuses drugs. In addition to both in class and online drug classes there are other things families can do to cope with a drug-addicted loved one.

Families affected by substance abuse and addiction often are caught unaware, with no idea how to deal with the problems they face. There is no road map for dealing with a family member suffering from drug and/or alcohol abuse or addiction, but there are strategies to keep in mind that can help.

Following are a few tips I like to offer in my drug education classes:

• Act Quickly: If you suspect a family member has a problem with drugs and/or alcohol. Express your concerns and contact an addictions professional for guidance and direction. It is not true that a person must "hit bottom" before he or she can get help.
• Look for Signs: Signs of a drug or alcohol problem include difficulty meeting expectations at school or work, behavioral changes, change in friends, secretive behavior, legal problems, diminished personal hygiene, relationship problems, friends who negatively impact individual.
• Get Help for Yourself: Seek help for yourself through a counselor or support group such as Al-Anon.
• Establish Rules: Don't be afraid to establish rules for teens and young adult children, and hold them accountable to following them.
• Keep Track: Keep a record of behaviors and incidents that disrupt your household or use in the event that the affected individual denies such incidents occurred.
• You May Need a Pro: If the individual's behavior becomes intolerable to the point that it's affecting the safety or well-being of other family members, seek advice from a professional about putting the individual out of the home.
• Follow Through is Key: When setting rules and establishing consequences for rules not followed, be prepared to follow through. Acting early and decisively maximize the possibility of positive outcomes for your loved one and you. 

All of these will help when dealing with someone battling addiction. The key is to not keep it a secret. Seek help. A good drug class is a place to start. If you prefer to maintain anonymity there are online drug classes too.

source: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=362181

I have recently been trying to get local high schools to make a drug education class mandatory as part of the high school curriculum.  Drug classes teach not only how dangerous using drugs and alcohol at a young age are, but emphasize the long-term effects that occur due to drug use during adolescence.

Had these two been exposed to a drug class in high school, perhaps a tragedy could have been avoided.

A man in Newton, Iowa has been charged in connection with the Nov. 12 death of Shasta Sapp.

Wyatt Andrew Franklin, 19, of Newton has been charged with involuntary manslaughter (a class D felony) for allegedly supplying and preparing oxymorphone, a drug that Sapp consumed the night she died that authorities allege contributed to her death. 

Authorities found Sapp had consumed alcohol and oxymorphone, a narcotic for pain relief that can cause euphoria, prior to her death. The level of the drug in her system contributed to her death, and authorities allege that Franklin supplied and prepared the oxymorphone that Sapp consumed.

However, the victim’s mother Linda Sapp said she never knew her daughter to drink alcohol or take narcotic pain killers and is skeptical that Sapp would have taken the drugs under her own power.

Franklin has been arrested and placed in the Jasper County Jail and is also facing charges of delivery of a controlled substance (a class C felony) and is in violation of a two-year probation he is currently serving for drug related convictions he received on Sept. 26.

An avoidable tragedy. The loss of a life and at least two or more ruined. There can never be too much education. We must never stop trying to get our children not to use drugs and alcohol.

Is it just me or does it seem like drugs are becoming more of a problem in our society? It seems like marijuana use is at an all-time, not to mention the crazy increase in the abuse of prescription medication.

If the saying “misery loves company” is true, then we are not alone in our drug-abusing misery. The European Union reports that drug abuse there is at all-time high levels as well.

Recent reports have revealed that the European Union has one of the most prevalent drug abuse problems in the world. Specifically, the use of Heroin continues to be one reason for a number of drug- related deaths in the vicinity. There need to be strong measures taken to curb this problem; otherwise it is bound to become a full blown threat in no time.

There are also regular users of opioid in the European Union. It was further reported that 51% of the total drug users have even been registered with special treatment for curbing their problems of opioid abuse. It has further been revealed that people using this drug these days are older people more than the youngsters. Another concern raised here is the fear of the outbreak of HIV; as a result of infected needles that are used for injecting people with the drug.

It was revealed that the abuse of opioid in the EU is slightly lesser than the scenario in Australian, Canada and the USA.

The trend further suggests that the use of injecting drugs has decreased over the years. People understand that injections are a source of infection and might lead to number of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and so on. The government and the health authorities need to take a firm stand on this matter.

There need to be effective measures taken to bring down the levels of drug abuse. It is essential that people understand the need for keeping their bodies detoxified and free from impurities. They need to understand the potential risk that drugs pose on their health and safety. Addiction is something that makes one lose his/ her all, and hit rock bottom.

I would hope that greater alcohol awareness and drug awareness would help curb the recent surge in drug use and abuse. There are currently even online alcohol classes and online drug classes to help educate people on the facts and dangers of alcohol and drug use.

If you have been reading this blog series on addictive drugs, you know I always ask how many people you know are using the drug subject to the blog. Because it is both legal, and arguably, widely-accepted, tobacco is one of the “Big 2” with tobacco for most used and people addicted.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant effect.  Many consider alcohol to be an “upper”; however by acting to slow the central nervous system alcohol most definitely is a “downer.”  Combined with clinically-diagnosed depression, alcohol can have very serious negative effects.

A high blood alcohol content is usually considered to be legal drunkenness because it reduces attention and slows reaction speed.

But How Addictive is Alcohol?  How about more physically addictive than cocaine!

How many kids would take their first drink knowing that alcohol ranks third, behind only heroin and cocaine, for the most addictive of used and abused chemical substances?  Those first two are pretty hard core and just the mention of alcohol sharing the top three with those two demonic substances might scare off a lot of would be drinkers.

An article in The Lancet compared the harm and addiction of 20 drugs, using a scale from 0 to 3 (with 3 being the most addictive – heroin) for physical addiction, psychological addiction, and pleasure to create a mean score for addiction.

With respect to physical dependency alcohol scored a 1.6, just slightly less addictive than tobacco, but more physically addictive than cocaine (1.3). How many would-be drinkers would that deter?  More physically addictive than cocaine.

Alcohol is also psychologically addictive scoring a 1.9, about even with amphetamines and more than cannabis.

Man, don’t start drinking. Alcohol is highly addictive and very hard to quit. Of course, thousands of people quit every day, so if you abuse alcohol, it is never too late to quit!

How many people do you know who are addicted to something? By that I don’t mean my friend who is addicted to refurbishing old motorcycles.  I am asking about people who addicted to a chemical substance.

Over the following weeks I will be writing a series of blogs on addictive drugs.  The series will begin with the least addictive and move on to the most addictive.  It will cover marijuana, alcohol and tobacco as well as cocaine, heroin, LSD, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and amphetamines.

One of the major underlying issues is that some people are more prone to addictive behavior.  Believe it or not, research has shown that people can be genetically pre-dispositioned to addictive behavior. 

Look at your parents. Are they addicts? If so, you stand a much greater chance of becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol yourself. That’s not to say that you will.  Of course if you never try a drug, you will never be addicted to it. 

But not all drugs are the same when it comes to being addictive.  I hope you enjoy the series.  As always I welcome your comments on anything we blog about here.  Too learn more about drugs and alcohol and their addictive qualities please take one of our in class or online drug classes.